The Profound UI Mobile Client is an app that is created and maintained by Profound Logic, starting with Profound UI Version 4, Fix Pack 6.0. It is intended to be a "generic app" that can run any Rich Display screen on any server. The Mobile Client app is free to use and may be installed on Android from Google Play, or on iOS devices from the Apple App Store.

Getting Started with the Mobile Client

These are the steps required to use the Profound UI Mobile Client:

1. Develop a Rich Display File program that will be run from the Mobile Client.

2. Use the Visual Designer to configure Profound UI to run your Rich Display File when a Mobile Client connects.

3. Install the Profound UI Mobile Client on each device that wishes to use it.

4. Connect the Profound UI Mobile Client to your IBM i server.

Develop a Rich Display File Program

Use the Visual Designer to create a Rich Display program (or convert green-screen DDS to a rich display) the same way for mobile devices that you would for desktop PCs. We recommend that you give some thought to using larger fonts and buttons on a mobile device so that it's easy to read the text or touch the buttons on small screens.

Use the Visual Designer to Configure Profound UI Mobile

In order to specify which application should be run via the Mobile Client, you will need to set up the Initial Mobile Program. This is done on the Launch menu of the Visual designer. Select Launch and then Configure Profound UI Mobile.

Next, you will need to specify the program name and library. The program that you configure here will be the program that is run when using the Mobile Client on this instance of Profound UI.

• Program:  The name of the IBM i program (RPG program that uses a Rich Display) that the Mobile Client should run.

• Library: The name of the IBM i library that contains the program.

• Require Sign-On:  If checked, the user running the Mobile Client will be asked for an IBM i user profile and password before they can run the program. If unchecked, the user will not have to sign in and the program will run as the IBM-supplied QTMHHTP1 user profile.

Configuring Profound UI Mobile When The Visual Designer Is Not Available

The settings for the initial mobile program (shown above) are stored in a physical file named PUIMOBP. If you can't use the dialog in the Visual Designer (for example, if running Profound UI on a production partition where the Visual Designer is not available) you can set the initial mobile program by updating the PUIMOBP file directly. Here are the fields in the file:

• KEY: This field is for future expansion.  For now, it should always be set to 1.

• LIBRARY: The library of your initial mobile program in all uppercase letters.

• PROGRAM: The object name of your initial mobile program in all uppercase letters.

• SIGNON: Set this to capital Y if sign-on is required, or capital N if it is not.

Install the Profound UI Mobile Client

The Profound UI Mobile Client is a free app available in either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and it is named 'Profound UI'. Search the app store for the app, and install it exactly the same way you would install any other mobile app.

Connect the Profound UI Mobile Client to your IBM i Server

Once the Profound UI app is installed, run it and you will be presented with a screen like this:

At this point, you are ready to start defining connections to servers.

Defining a Connection

You can manually define a connection by tapping the New Connection button:

You will be presented with a screen like this:

• Name: This is the name of the mobile connection that will show up on the connections screen (the first screen you see when the mobile app is opened). Choose a name that will be easy for your users to recognize as making a connection to your IBM i program.

• Server: This is the host name or IP address that will be used to connect to your IBM i server.

• Port: This should be the port number that you installed Profound UI on – 8080 is the default value, but when you install Profound UI on your IBM i server, you can choose another port number if desired.  Make sure this matches the number you used when installing the IBM i server side of Profound UI.

• SSL: This lets you turn on SSL to keep your connection secured. In order to use SSL, you must also configure your IBM i server to accept SSL connections.

• Parameter: This allows you to define a parameter (as a 250A parameter) that you can pass to your initial mobile program. 

• Offline mode: Setting this option to 'On' will allow you to run your applications without having a connection to a server. You can run your applications offline, store any necessary data locally, and simply sync the collected data with the server at a later time. This option is available with version 2.5.0 of the Mobile Client app. 

Once you've entered your settings, click Save to save them. Now, when you open the Profound UI mobile app, you will be able to select your server from the list and it will connect and run the program that was configured in the Visual Designer.